Kyoto Summer Study

There is no doubt about it, Japan is a popular place to travel. Everyone has a place to recommend, the hidden cafe off the beaten path, the izakaya that all the locals supposedly love, the temple that you must see and the exotic food that was absolutely orgasmic. Everyone that spends a few days in Japan has a frantic schedule that tries to cram in everything in all at once, and by the end you’re left exhausted with plenty more to see. I’m a seasoned traveller, and Japan is one of my favourite places to travel in the world, I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few years of Japanese study under my belt and thought I could hit two birds with one stone by learning and travelling Japan at the same time.

I set up my base in Kyoto, and after a quick google search it seemed that KICL was the place for me. It was hosted within Kyoto University of Art and Design, it had an active extra curricular program and they also seemed to have a good curriculum, in terms of social life, cultural experience and education, KICL ticked all the boxes. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much after all I was here to travel not study, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

I stepped in thinking I’ll just do the bare minimum to get by, but the teachers are the most personable people that really are passionate about teaching. They make a genuine effort to bring you up to speed and make sure you understand what was going on. They explained the small nuances of the language that you wouldn’t even think of asking yourself and that is what I think sets KICL apart from other places that may just follow a text book. 

There are ample opportunities to practice Japanese, whether it is with classmates, teachers or even the university students that are casually wondering around. The cultural activities is where KICL brings their A game. I was fortunate enough to attend quite a few activities. The tours kindly organised by neighbouring universities in Kyoto where it became a battle between charades and our serious attempts to communicate resulted in some memorable situations, I can still hear the rhythm from the Taiko performance and the Japanese wagashi Sweets making session was a sugary sweet delight! There were also the city tours, tea ceremony, temple visits and calligraphy lessons.

Everyone comes to KICL for different reasons, but I really do think it has something for everyone. I wouldn’t be writing this entry if I didn’t think that KICL was worth it. Whether it is for study, travel or for a cultural experience, attending KICL was one of the best choices I’ve made and I would give them a big fat stamp of approval.